What was the relationship between church & state in theEast? How did it compare 2the church/state in the West?

Answer 1

In most Eastern and Middle Eastern nations, religion and government are connected with no separation. However, in the West, church and state are separate

Answer 2

The relationship between the Church and state in the Byzantine Empire was slightly different from that in the West. The rise of the papacy in Rome was due to the fact that there was no strong central Roman government that was seen in the past. Many of the Roman Emperors that survive, such as Justinian, were emperors in the East. Therefore, the rise of papal influence in the west directly correlates with the decline of the western Roman empire. With the Holy Roman Empire not yet introduced into the West until later in the Medieval period, the Church assumed control over an unstable region.

However, when Constantine moved the Roman Empire east to Constantinople, the fusion of Church and state occurred. First, he endorsed Christianity...making them the unofficial religion of the Empire. Second, the emperor had far much greater control over the Church than did the Holy Roman Emperor in the West. In fact, the Patriarch (the Eastern equivalent to the Pope) and the emperor were known to fused at the hip. During periods of decline in the Byzantine world, the Patriarch would become the central figure of the empire. He wouldnt rule the secular world, but he had a major influence on the politics of the empire.